I am happy to report that the Brothers of Baker Street - Nigel and Reggie Heath - are in good form in solving their latest mystery The Baker Street Translation (2013).
This third in the series by Michael Robertson has Reggie and Nigel involved with a kidnapping, a plastic duck that recites nursery rhymes, two murders, a birthday party for a minor Royal, the sewer system that services Buckingham Palace, the fortune of a wealthy Texas woman, and, of course, letters to Sherlock Holmes.
For you see, if you are not familiar with this series which I have written about here and here, Reggie Heath Q.C. has his law offices at 221B Baker Street. Letters of appeal come to Sherlock Holmes and part of the lease agreement stipulates that all correspondence must be read and acknowledged.
Therein lies the fun. This time not only has a Texas widow left her considerable estate to Mr. Holmes but a Chinese translator of toy instructions - to his peril - has come to London to appeal in person to the great detective.
Reggie and his lovely Laura, the actress, have to deal with kidnappers, private security teams in armored Range Rovers, and a short-handed Scotland Yard in order to save the day.
I think Mr. Robertson has hit his stride with this caper and I look forward to his next one.
I didn't get as much time to read over the weekend as I would have liked, but I am happy to report that the two books I started are excellent.
The Brothers of Baker Street by Michael Robertson is a much smoother read than his first mystery concerning London brothers and solicitors Reggie and Nigel Heath. Their law chambers share the same address as Sherlock Holmes - 221b Baker Street. Letters still come for the great detective and part of the lease agreement states that all inquiries will be answered with a polite form letter. In Robertson's first book, The Baker Street Letters, disobeying the strict rule in the lease that absolutely no contact shall be made with any of the letter writers, Nigel and Reggie end up in Los Angeles investigating an appeal for help made to Holmes. In this next episode, the action takes place in London and concerns the Black Cab Killer and the reappearance of Holmes's nemesis Professor Moriarty. Or at least a reasonable facsimile of that evil genius.
I see that a third in the series, The Baker Street Translation, is due out in April. Oh good.
The other book I started is How to Live: Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer by Sarah Bakewell. I am barely 30 pages into the book (or at nine percent as my Kindle tells me), and already I can see that this is a book I want to own. It is a fascinating look at the über-essayist's life and writings. I want to flip back and forth and mark certain passages. I want to look at certain photos again. The downside of the Kindle is that this is difficult to do for an Old School reader such as I.
So, as I write this, the hardcover edition of How to Live sits in my cart and is ready to be ordered from Amazon.
How did your weekend reading go?
